Georgetown coach John Thompson, left, shares a hug with Patrick Ewing as they celebrate their defeat of Houston in the 1985 title game. / AP

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

To commemorate the 75th NCAA men's basketball Final Four being played in Atlanta, USA TODAY Sports ranked the previous 74 editions.

A panel of six experts individually graded each of the Final Fours from 1-74. Their votes were summed and divided by six to determine each event's average score. Average scores were rounded to the nearest two decimal points (hundredths).

The panelists were college basketball reporters Nicole Auerbach and Eric Prisbell, college columnist Mike Lopresti, college reporter Eddie Timanus, Sports on Earth columnist Will Leitch and Dan Shanoff of USA TODAY Sports.

1. 1979Teams: Michigan State, Indiana State, DePaul, PennBriefly: Some say the modern era of the star-driven NCAA tournament began with this legendary showdown between Michigan State star Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Indiana State standout Larry Bird, but the Spartans' superior supporting cast was the difference in a 75-64 title victory against the Sycamores.Highest vote: 1 (Lopresti, Auerbach)Comment: "You wish the game were a LITTLE closer. But otherwise: The Final Four that changed everything." â?? Leitch

2. 1966Teams: Texas Western, Kentucky, Duke, UtahBriefly: History was made in Maryland's Cole Field House when the Miners of Texas Western, with an all-African-American starting five coached by Don Haskins, defeated Kentucky 72-65.Highest vote: 1 (Prisbell, Timanus)Comment: "UTEP â?? then Texas Western â?? the one that made it a game for everybody." â?? Timanus

3. 1983Teams: North Carolina State, Houston, Georgia, LouisvilleBriefly: The Lorenzo Charles slam of a Dereck Whittenburg air ball put the exclamation point on an improbable North Carolina State run to the championship, giving Jim Valvano his lone NCAA title with a 54-52 win against heavily-favored Houston in the title game in Albuquerque.Highest vote: 2 (Prisbell)Comment: "An airball turned alley-oop pass and a floppy-haired coach looking for someone to hug are rightly the most indelible images in the history of March Madness." â?? Prisbell

4. 1985Teams: Villanova, Georgetown, St. John's, Memphis*Briefly: The era of the 64-team field opened in memorable fashion as the Hoyas' road to repeat was derailed by Big East rival Villanova, which got hot at the right time and delivered a shooting performance for the ages in a 66-64 title game upset.Highest vote: 1 (Shanoff)Comment: " '79 was the Pulp Fiction indie hit to '85 as the Avengers blockbuster." â?? Shanoff

5. 1957Teams: North Carolina, Kansas, San Francisco, Michigan StateBriefly: It was the star turn for another iconic big man, Wilt Chamberlain of Kansas, but it was an undefeated North Carolina squad coached by Frank McGuire that brought home the trophy, slowing the game and outlasting the Jayhawks 54-53 in triple overtime.Highest vote: 3 (Lopresti)Comment: "Simply, the most fiercely-fought Final Four in history." â?? Lopresti

6. 1982Teams: North Carolina, Georgetown, Houston, LouisvilleBriefly: It took a clutch Michael Jordan shot and an unfortunate pass by Georgetown's Freddy Brown, but a 63-62 North Carolina victory finally brought coach Dean Smith his first championship.Highest vote: 1 (Leitch)Comment: "This one had everything: An indelible moment, two great coaches battling and, of course, MJ." â?? Leitch

6. 1976Teams: Indiana, Michigan, UCLA, RutgersBriefly: Quinn Buckner, Kent Benson and the Indiana Hoosiers concluded an undefeated 32-0 season - the last team in Division I to accomplish the feat - with an 86-68 championship game triumph over Michigan for coach Bob Knight's first title.Highest vote: 2 (Auerbach)Comment: "Perfection, with a Final Four that had little suspense." â?? Leitch

8. 1991Teams: Duke, Kansas, UNLV, North CarolinaBriefly: Duke avenged its loss to UNLV in the semifinal, then downed Kansas 72-65 for the Blue Devils and Mike Krzyzewski's first championship.Highest vote: 6 (Prisbell)Comment: "An intersection of four of the game's greatest coaches, arguably the greatest upset in Final Four history and the start of Mike Krzyzewski's journey to four national titles." â?? Prisbell

9. 1984Teams: Georgetown, Houston, Kentucky, VirginiaBriefly: Houston was on the wrong side of destiny once again as Patrick Ewing and Georgetown powered to an 84-75 final win.Highest vote: 4 (Shanoff)Comment: "Choose one of two landmarks. Either Georgetown's defense, so dominant it held Kentucky to 3-for-33 shooting in the second half of the semifinal. Or John Thompson becoming the first African-American coach to win a national championship." â?? Lopresti

10. 1987Teams: Indiana, Syracuse, UNLV, ProvidenceBriefly: The era of the three-point shot began this year, and Indiana's Steve Alford used it to great effect, but it was Keith Smart who hit the big two-pointer to beat Syracuse 74-73 for the third championship for Hoosiers coach Bob Knight.Highest vote: 6 (Shanoff)Comment: "Knight's redemption, Boeheim's breakthrough, Billy the Kid, Tark." â?? Shanoff

11. 1974Teams: North Carolina State, Marquette, UCLA, KansasBriefly: David Thompson and his North Carolina State Wolfpack outlasted UCLA 80-77 in double-OT in a memorable semifinal then went on to defeat Marquette 76-64 in front of a home-state crowd in Greensboro.Highest vote: 5 (Lopresti)Comment: "In this era, the only certainties were death, taxes and another UCLA title â?? until 1974." â?? Prisbell

12. 1963Teams: Loyola (Ill.), Cincinnati, Duke, Oregon StateBriefly: Loyola (Ill.) stopped Cincinnati's unprecedented bid for a third consecutive title with a 60-58 OT win in the final.Highest vote: 7 (Timanus)Comment: "It was more the events leading up to Loyola's championship that set the stage for UTEP, but the Game of Change in the regional semifinal deserves mention." â?? Timanus

13. 1993Teams: North Carolina, Michigan*, Kansas, KentuckyBriefly: Michigan's ill-advised time-out it didn't have in the final seconds provided the clinching free throws as North Carolina closed out a 77-71 win for Dean Smith's second championship.Highest vote: 9 (Leitch)Comment: "Chris Webber has had an incredible career, and this is still how he'll always be known." â?? Leitch

14. 2010Teams: Duke, Butler, Michigan State, West VirginiaBriefly: Butler, carrying the hopes and dreams of every school from a non-power conference, just missed taking down Duke, which won 61-59.Highest vote: 4 (Timanus)Comment: "Had Gordon Hayward's heave fallen, it would have been the greatest shot in the history of the sport." â?? Prisbell

15. 1988Teams: Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, DukeBriefly: It took almost 50 years and an improbable run as a No.6 seed, but Kansas finally got its second championship thanks to Danny Manning, concluding the run by outrunning Oklahoma 83-79 for the title.Highest vote: 9 (Timanus)Comment: "Come up with one player you remember from this Final Four other than Danny Manning. That's enough." â?? Leitch